When We're Together
by thedeliverygod
Summary: A drabble collection for Yatori Week 2017.
1. Birthday

"Absolutely no big parties, got it?" Yato shoved his finger in the direction of Kofuku and Daikoku, the goddess giving him a confused and saddened look in response while Daikoku stared blankly.

"And this is _you_ saying this?" The shinki crossed his arms and eyed Yato suspiciously.

Yukine immediately jumped in as well, agreeing, "Yeah, what Daikoku-san said. I mean, this is coming from the guy who arranged a flash mob for a dead kid."

Yato's mouth parted in a mix of shock and annoyance before defending sharply, "Because it's what Hiyori wants. And Yukine, I know you loved it, so you can shut up."

The boy rolled his eyes in response and pressed his face into his palm, muffling the sigh that passed his lips, "Whatever." Looking off into the other room, he questioned, "So what are you planning, then?"

"I, uh…" He rubbed the back of his neck and admitted, "I don't really know yet…"

Yukine whirled around and dropped his hand to the table in disbelief, "Her birthday is in three days! Talk about procrastination."

"I haven't been procrastinating!" Yato shot back, his voice lowering as he continued, "I just can't decide on what to do. I really want to make it perfect."

Yukine placed his hand on his hip, "C'mon, we hang out with her every day. It shouldn't be that hard to think of something."

"I've had plenty of ideas—like I said, I just can't _decide_." He emphasized with a heavy groan, rubbing his chin as he continued to rack his brain.

Kofuku immediately began pouring out a list of suggestions, most of which he knew wouldn't be to Hiyori's liking at all. "No, no, no." He repeated while waving his hands, "Ugh, I'm gonna take a walk so I can think…"

"Better hurry up, cuz she'll be here soon." Yukine started to head towards the stairs and Yato nodded.

"Yeah, I know."

XXXXXX

Despite the fact that even Yukine had highly praised his gift for Hiyori, he was nervous as he lingered outside her window. She hadn't even wanted him to drop by on her birthday, much less know that he had planned to give a gift for her. Still, after hours of begging through both texts and twitter, she had reluctantly agreed.

He tapped his knuckles lightly against her window, calling, "Hiyori."

She had been sitting on her bed on her phone, so she quickly whirled her head around at the sound. Surprise flashed across her expression before she saw Yato and relaxed, letting out a small breath as she made her way to the window. "Hi," She greeted as she pulled the window open.

"Hey." He immediately slipped off his boots and let them drop to the floor, looking back up at her with a small smile, "Happy Birthday."

"T-thanks." Hiyori stuttered, shifting her weight onto one foot, "I still don't really understand why you had to come here to say it in person."

He grinned sheepishly, admitting, "Cuz I've got something for you."

She immediately waved her hands in front of her, dissuading him, "You don't have to give anything to me, really."

"Too late, nonrefundable." He pulled out a slip of paper from his pocket before reaching out to grab her hand gently, pushing the paper into her palm despite her hesistation.

Hiyori looked down nervously, "Wha—"

"At first I thought about trying to get you a ticket to see that Touno guy, but that was a little out of my price range…" He admitted, his eyes shifting away from her, "So I figured the next best thing was maybe signing you up for a formal class? I couldn't really get more than two sessions, but—" He was interrupted by the breath being knocked out of him, Hiyori's body colliding into his as she wrapped her arms around him tightly.

" _Thank you_!" She squeezed him even tighter, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Yato took in a breath, "Wow." His face flushed, he stumbled, "I, uh, never… expected this sort of reaction from you."

Hiyori immediately unlatched herself from him, starting to turn a light shade of pink herself, "Sorry—I'm sorry. I'm just—really excited." She beamed brightly, "Thank you, Yato. I think this might be the best gift I've ever gotten for a birthday."

"Really?" His voice practically cracked before he cleared his throat, feigning confidence, "I mean, of course. You should expect nothing less from your God of Fortune."

She gave a small laugh and nodded, "Right, of course."

"Hiyoriiiii! Are you ready to go?" Her mother's voice called from down the hall.

"Yes!" She answered automatically before turning back to Yato, "I'm going out to eat with my parents so I've got to go, but thank you so much." She pushed her hands against his shoulders, standing on her toes to press a swift kiss to his cheek before rushing out of the room, "I'll see you later!"

Yato stood dumbfounded as he watched her retreat, reaching up to touch just underneath where he could still feel the slight moisture from Hiyori's lips on his skin.


	2. Red String of Fate

"Y—Yato…" Her breath caught in her throat, her chest unbearably tight as she tried to search for the right words to get out what she needed to tell him.

"Mm?" He angled his body towards hers, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he looked at her curiously.

Hiyori gave a hard swallow, "T-there's something I've been meaning to tell you…" Her voice trailed off again, her bravery quickly fading.

Yato quirked an eyebrow and she didn't miss the fear flashing through his expression, "Okay, so… What is it?"

"Do you remember how Kofuku-san had my ema at Kamuhakari last year?" She figured that was a simple and innocent enough way to begin the conversation, though she knew all too well what she had to say next.

"Uh-huh." He gave a slight nod, unmoving.

"She, um…" Her throat was so, so dry and she swore that her heart was going to escape from her chest if it managed to pound any harder, "She… sort of tied our emas together."

Yato shifted his weight onto one foot and turned his head away from her, his expression not changing much as he let out an, "Ah."

Hiyori was completely dumbfounded at his reaction, a breath finally escaping her lips as she furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Believe it or not, I actually kind of knew already." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.

" _What?_ " Her mouth dropped open, "H-how!?"

His eyes finally flickered back to hers, "I could tell our ties had changed, since that's one of my specialties and all."

"O-oh." The sound passed her lips automatically before she took a step forward, raising her voice, "Why didn't you say anything?"

"I… didn't know if you wanted me to." He didn't turn away from her this time but his eyes fell to his feet and his lips tightened into a frown.

Blinking, she questioned, "Why would you think that?"

"Well, since it was Kofuku who did it, I didn't have any idea of whether or not it was something you actually wanted or if you just sort of got stuck with me." He answered in almost a mumble.

Hiyori stared at him wordlessly before she took a few more steps forward, reaching out to push hair out of his eyes, "I wouldn't want it to be anyone else." Yato's eyes widened and she could see a bit of moisture building before she added, "I just didn't know how to tell you about it."

Before she could react he pulled her into a crushingly tight hug, speaking softly into her ear, "I have no idea what I've done to deserve you believing in me so whole-heartedly, but I'm so… so happy."

"I tell you all the time," She answered automatically with a small laugh against his shoulder, "Maybe you should just listen."

"Not always my strong suite, I'll admit." He responded with a laugh as well.


	3. Shrine

She knew the shrine was sturdy; she had built it with her own hands, after all. Still, she handled it as if it were glass because she knew how much it meant to the god whose name was etched on the plaque. Her fingers gently skimmed the small roof often when Yato and Yukine were gone, a way to make them feel more real.

Ever since that incident where her memory had lapsed, she'd been nervous any time they were apart. She and Yukine exchanged letters with the help of Coo Phone when Yato had decided to distance themselves from her, and it helped, but it wasn't nearly enough. Now they never spent more than a day apart, with Yato's barrage of tweets and text messages a constant reminder of his existence to the point where she actually did wish for some peace and quiet at times.

But things like that were exactly why she treated the shrine as fragile. Yato, outwardly, was a strong god. With his blessed vessel Yukine at his side, there was nothing that the two of them couldn't do together. Despite the confidence that he had gained finally forging a lasting bond with a shinki, it was all too clear his self-esteem was easily shattered. His father, of course, had a lot to do with that.

Much as Yukine had been the only shinki to stick by Yato's side, Hiyori had been the only human to do so. And much to her dismay, that meant that he blamed himself whenever things managed to go south for herself or her family. Of course, he also never gave himself credit when things _did_ go right. Not without guidance or confirmation from Yukine or herself, anyway. Still, she could tell that genuine confidence as a god of fortune was finally starting to settle in after he'd finally pushed through so much self-doubt.

The shrine was Yato's most prized possession and if she was being honest, it was hers too. It represented so many things. Yato's wish come true, their ties as a god and a believer, their ties as friends and her connection to the far shore; all the things she so desperately wanted to hold on to forever.

And so she held the shrine tightly atop her knees, lowering her head until it just barely touched the torii. "Please don't let me ever forget."


	4. Wish

"Hey, Yato."

He looked up curiously to find Hiyori staring at him in earnest. "Uh, yeah?" He blinked, his slight nervousness coming through his voice.

"If you were human, what would you wish for?" Just a moment after the words had passed her lips, her hand came flying up to cover them and her cheeks started to flush a light shade of pink, "S-sorry, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to. I was just curious."

Yato blinked again, taken back. "It's fine," He rubbed the back of his neck, "I… I guess it wouldn't be much different from now, really. I'd just want to spend more time with you and Yukine." He shifted away from her but gave a small grin to himself, "But I doubt I'd actually go to any god and formally wish for it."

Hiyori tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows, "Why's that?"

"Stubbornness, I guess, is the best answer." He looked back to her and continued smugly, "Besides, I don't think I'd bother worrying about gods and stuff if I had the choice."

"That's… surprising, coming from a god." She commented breathlessly.

He shrugged, "Just being honest. At least, that's how I think I would be. Could be wrong, though." He scooted just a little bit closer to her, "Sometimes when I spend a lot of time with you, I almost can forget I am a god momentarily. And that's how I feel then—that I can just forget about all of those things." Upon seeing her uncertain expression, he clarified, "Not that I don't want to be one… it's just… complicated I guess. I do want to be well known and loved but you know, at the same time, it is kinda nice to just be your personal god of fortune."

She flushed even more but a small smile crossed her lips as she suggested, "You can always be both."

Yato hummed thoughtfully, "Hmm. Suppose you're right."


End file.
